by Patrick Newman (Feb 25, 2014)

These payroll figures are a little different from MLB numbers in that each team’s payroll covers its entire 70-man shihaika roster. This includes minor leaguers, but not players on the ikusei
roster. So the average per player is a bit lower than if it were
narrowed down to the top 25 or 40 players. NPB is also a little more
egalitarian in the sense that minor leaguers earn a livable wage off.

My US dollar figures are based on an exchange rate of JPY102.5/$1, which was the market rate
at the of writing. The Yen has weakened against the US Dollar by about
10 percent over the last year, so take the conversions with a grain of
salt.

Japan’s highest-paid player is Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe at
JPY600m ($6m). He actually turned down a higher salary for Yomiuri,
because he felt he was not ready to surpass the JPY610m that Hideki Matsui made in his final season with the Giants.

The highest paid foreign player is Rakuten’s Andruw Jones, at JPY400m. I believe he’s being paid in dollars, in the amount of $3.8m